21 Dec 2014

Alzhelmer Netherlands have created this compelling ad that recreates the disease's effects on the mind by confusing viewers about what happened when. At first I was said to myself 'that wasn't in 2014, was it?' It's strong, but at first glance it could have been a Google ad.

20 Dec 2014

I found out last week one of my illustrations (To Tower Bridge and Beyond) is being exhibited and sold, in this pop up shop in Carnaby Street in London. It's called We Built This City, with their mission being:

"We thought it was high time souvenirs got an art-designed makeover! By setting up shop in the heart of London's West End. we're offering everyone - from the first visitor to established city dweller - the chance to take home a unique and lasting piece of London, whilst supporting our talented homegrown artistes and designers at he same time'

It's exciting to see my work displayed and this piece has been successful for me, with it now being in it's third exhibition.

My illustration is the blue one of tower bridge and the many boats. It's dead centre.If you can't make it down there, Evermade.com sell the print on my behalf.

5 Dec 2014

I feel better sharing Christmas ads now it's actually December.

Well, who doesn't like cute baby animals? Add in that they are choir singing the 1980 hit 'only you' and we've got ourselves an extremely cute ad for McVities's, as part of their 'Sweet' campaign. It's well put together and they have selected the baby animals well (as most baby animal are cute).

My favourite part is the baby whale that pops out of the dish. What's your favourite part?

3 Dec 2014

At Gatecrasher Advertising we've been doing some pretty crazy tasks last month to raise money for Movember. People at Gatecrasher have swam, carried me, ran miles, waxed their back and even eat dog food for the good cause. We've raised $2398 (which I think is pretty impressive) and if you would like to show your support, there is still time to donate and laugh at our videos too, at gatestacher.com.au

28 Nov 2014

This charming handmade ad from Airbnb gets my pick this week. It's shot in 1 take from the perspective of a toy train, that goes through a whole range of landscapes from castles to rain forests. It took 30 people, 5 weeks to build this huge 85-square-meter set. I think it's a nice technique to show the range of offerings from Airbnb and the level of craft on such a small level is impressive.

27 Nov 2014

QR codes where
originally designed back in 1994 to track vehicles during
manufacture. Since then they are used to connect the offline world to
the online world.

I want to give you both
sides of the coin and finish with my verdict on them. I’ll start
with my negative hat on.

NO

I knew the percentage
of consumers scanning QR codes was going to be low, so I did some
research and found out only 19% of USA consumers have ever scanned
one. That’s ever; I can imagine a lot fewer have scanned one again.

The reasons why it’s
so low, well it doesn’t help when advertisers aren’t using them
correctly. Linking people to the wrong content is a key one, but more
importantly what’s giving them a bad name is there placement.
Sticking a QR code on a moving vehicle, on the other side of the train track or at an underground station (that has no Wi-Fi or connectivity) isn’t a good idea.

It’s also hard for QR
codes with new technology making it easier and more engaging for
consumers to get to your offering.

YES

Here are some nice ways
that advertisers have used them, to show that they can live on.

A simple and very
effective use is when they are linked to interesting content. Like
Australia mail that let consumers create a video stamp, a QR code that links to a
personalized video message. The second best thing when you can’t be
there to give your friend their gift.

Some advertisers have
even edited QR codes and integrated them into their ads, like these
Disney posters.

You can actually edit up to 30% of a QR code, which gives advertisers
more flexibility and more of a creative opportunity.

The location and timing
when consumers scan them is extremely important too. Like this
supermarket chain, which was losing business at lunchtime, so they
created a shadow activated QR code, an installation that only became
a visible when the sun hit it between 12pm - 1pm. Leading people to
discounts in their store.

VERDICT

I don’t think they
are dead; they just need to be used in interesting, engaging ways.
Advertisers need to stop being lazy and give people a unique
experience, add value to the ad and reward consumers with good
content.

If
advertisers do link it to their client’s site, they need to make
sure it directs the consumers to a mobile optimised site. So before
advertisers just stick another QR code in the left hand corner of
their client’s press ad, they need to think about when the consumer
will see it and how they will interact with it.

21 Nov 2014

I watched these ads below and I had to share them straight away. These fun ads by BBH NY for Playstation, use the New York City Ballet showing off their classical dance moves to create scenes e.g a football match, robbing a bank. What followers, when the dancer destroys their opponents, is them breaking into a proper down and dirty victory dance. These are my favourite 3 below out of 6 made, each one is 45 seconds, it must have cost a fortune.

Every part of each of these ads are crafted extremely well, even the font that has been created at the start of the ad. They have a nice Instagram competition too, where you can send in your own victory dance for a chance to win a PS4 for you and a friend to ease their pain.

20 Nov 2014

At my agency Gatecrasher, we're doing some crazy stuff to raise money for The Movember Foundation. Such as me eating dog food (it's as horrible as it sounds), someone getting their back waxed, paddling a long way down the coast of Perth. Check out the rest here.So far we've just raised over $1000, but we don't want to stop there, so please donate to the great cause and have a laugh at what we're doing too.

9 Nov 2014

Christmas ads have already started appearing and they are everywhere. So I had to share my favourite one so far, yes the John Lewis Penguin ad. You've probably already seen it, so I've decided to share a parody version of it (there are so many out there already) and as I missed sharing 'my ad of week halloween edition' last week, it ticks both of those boxes.

It shows how import music is in advertising, with a different track and a slight re edit can make the cute penguin be viewed in a completely different way.

I only read yesterday John Lewis have sold out of there toy penguins, after a huge demand and there are people now selling them on ebay for £500. The ad had only been on air for a day or 2.

26 Oct 2014

This ad for discrimination against women will make you listen. It features cute little girls dressed up as princesses dropping the f-bomb. As they put it, using the word for a good cause.

I think it's a clever way to make people listen and it will get people sharing it because of who is swearing. My favourite quote from one of the youngest girls is "I shouldn't need a penis to get paid".

22 Oct 2014

A couple of weeks ago this TV ad ran; it is my first TV ad in Perth and it was created at Gatecrasher.

The brief was to celebrate The Sunday Times Magazine 'STM' turning 10, through a competition that was giving people the chance to win a trip to Abu Dhabi, then flying on to Rome for a feast of fashion and food. As it sounds, there was a lot to get into this 30 second ad; we were also limited with footage and Etihad (who had given part of the prize) needed some promotion too.So our solution was to package the prize as a Glam Getaway (as the target audience was females), showing the prize through the glamorous sunglasses women wear, as if it could be them living the experience themselves.

19 Oct 2014

Here's a pretty crazy stunt in South Korea, created by the extreme outdoor clothes company The North Face. Where customers, just browsing at the clothes section are faced with the floor moving from underneath their feet, making them have to climb the wall or in some cases trying to hang onto the clothes on the rails. They are then rewarded by a new jacket that they have to jump off the wall to grab, with the copy 'Never Stop Exploring' appearing on the floor to promote the companies line.

10 Oct 2014

We haven't seen Mr Bean in a long time, since the Olympic Opening Ceremony I think.

But Snickers have just brought him back for their extremely successful formula/campaigns 'You're not you when you are hungry', past ads have featured celebrities like Joan Collins. Mr Bean brings back all of the fun from his TV series (and there was that film?) in this 1 minute ad.

It's always going to make you laugh, when the title of the ad is 'Snickers Mr Bean Kung Fu'.

4 Oct 2014

Someone sent me this earlier this week and it's is probably one of the most bonkers ads I've shared. It's starring Jeff Goldblum (from Independence Day and Jurassic Park) with some great hair, in this fake infomercial ad for GE Link lighting solutions.

27 Sep 2014

I can't believe I've already written 80 of these.

This week I was weighing up which of two dog ads to share with you, but this one had to win. It's for the Dutch airline KLM. Let me first ask you this though, have you ever left anything on the plane and only released you lost it when it was too late?

Well for these lucky passengers, this cute dog brought their lost items back to them as they'll walking out of the airport. They should have a dog like this for every airline at every airport.

20 Sep 2014

This week it goes to these simple and beautifully crafted ads for John Lewis, to announce the arrival of their new store in Southampton. It's nicely art directed by Adam&Eve/DDB and they have really chosen the products well.

14 Sep 2014

Canal +, who in recent years have done 'The Bear', an ad of a film director, directing the set, production etc but the director was a bear, it was very good and an multi award winning ad too. Watch it again.

So they have just done this ad for their sports channel and I also do love my football. So it shows how dedicated their cameramen are, to get fantastic images/footage for the fans, with the new tagline 'Making sport bigger is our sport'.

30 Aug 2014

My blog has been pretty inactive the last month, mainly being back in the UK for a few weeks, sorting through boring visa forms and also starting a new job a couple of months ago at this fantastic advertising agency in Perth called Gatecrasher. Here I am kissing my football teams badge on their site (Charlton Athletic). Up the Addicks.

13 Jul 2014

Here is an ad that was hard on YouTube as they blocked it, but it's now back. It's by Greenpeace wanting Lego to end a deal with Shell, that shows antarctica made from Lego being covered in real oil. It's well shot, with track you'll remember and it's also only ranked up a couple of million views this week.

6 Jul 2014

Burger King (Hungry Jacks for Australia) have created this ad using an interesting media space to support Gay Pride in San Francisco. They created special packing called the 'Proud Whopper', that has messaging on the inside of the wrappers saying 'We are all the same inside'. I think it's a really nice way to reveal the messaging and I haven't seen wrappers used in this way before. Have you?

28 Jun 2014

I haven't shared some print advertising for a while, so I thought I'd share these ads for Rothammer (a beer). "When love is born, a friend dies", shows mates mooring their friend who has fallen for a girl and now has less time for drinking. It's extremely well crafted and it deserves the Gold Lion it picked up at the Cannes Advertising Festival recently.

24 Jun 2014

I was approached to illustrate the cover of a book, all about clutter clearing. The company logo, that I had worked on in the past was an elephant, so I expanded on this and illustrated items of clutter to create the elephant's silhouette.Check out the book on Amazon.

22 Jun 2014

This week has been the Cannes Advertising Awards, one the biggest and best awards shows in the world. There's been loads of fantastic and inspiring work that has been awarded this week (see the winners here).

But I wanted to share this, it's from last year, but I didn't see it until now. It was shown at the Saatchi & Saatchi new directors showcase (one of many huge events that showcase new talent). Called It's Not Porn... I read it's the funniest fake ad at Cannes this year.

15 Jun 2014

With the world cup in full swing, I wanted to share this short film Nike have created. It's a nicely animated story about robots who take over the football world and the only people who can fix it are the best players in the world. I haven't sold it on you, but it's got some lovely animated parts. Though I did wonder why some of the players are playing in club kits.

9 Jun 2014

A month ago I told you I was made a Young Lions 2014 digital finalist and that I was going to share the work. So here is the start of my entry below, the brief was for Qantas. We sadly didn't win the 24 hour brief, but we came pretty close.Problem: Customers don’t realise that Qantas are the only full-service airline in Australia.Solution: Qantas don’t skip anything. So, we created an ad that highlights all the inclusions our competitors don’t provide. 70% of people skip pre-rolls, so we used that insight to highlight what the other airlines skip.Pre-roll ad 1 45 secondsSkip through 7 Qantas videos to highlight what you get compared to Tiger Air.

6 Jun 2014

With the world cup starting next week or if you're reading this from my newsletter, yesterday. I thought it was time to share a world cup ad. I wanted to share this new one from McDonalds 'Go!', that uses unknown talent from around the world showing off there trick shots. It's nice to use unknown talent rather than Neymar, like everyone else. Some of the skills are impressive, it's a nice watch.

25 May 2014

When I first saw this video being 5 minutes, I thought I would watch it for a minute or two, get the idea and skip it. But I was hooked for the whole time. It's a great stunt for the upcoming game Watch Dogs.

20 May 2014

I've recently illustrated these wedding invitations (below) for a good friend of mine in the UK. The first one shown is two champagne glasses with each one created from things that are part of them. The second illustration is a wedding cake created with all sorts of wedding items.

18 May 2014

The sad news has hit the creative world today, that David Abbott, one of the most famous ad men ever has passed away this weekend. He founded AMV and created famous campaigns for Volvo, Sainsbury's, IKEA and the Economist to name a few.

So I thought it was fitting to share this reworked David Abbot Economist ad, Droga5 have created today.

11 May 2014

On Friday I found out myself and Paul Donnelly are digital finalists in the 2014 Young Lions Competition and the only digital team in Western Australia to get through to the final round against the whole of Australia and the winners of that round get sent to Cannes. I'll be sharing the winning work in the next few weeks on my site.

9 May 2014

How many cookbooks do you tear apart and use?

Well, this book created by a Brazilian BBQ brand called Tramontina, want you to do exactly that. It's called 'The Bible of Barbecue' with each page made from something different (coil, tin foil etc) that is usefully throughout the BBQ process. It would be ace to own one, even though I bet they only made a couple.

27 Apr 2014

You know those awkard moments when you're watching TV with your parents and they say something really cringe-worthy. Well HBO have picked seven of the best cringe-worthy moments and have created these well casted ads and very funny ads for HBO GO. Just be pleased it's not you in the ad.

16 Apr 2014

This week I wanted to share 'The World's Toughest Job' a FaceTime style interview with some interesting questions that recieve some great reactions. I don't want to give anything away, let me just say it's worth the 4 minute watch.

1 Apr 2014

There have been a lot of April Fools ads going around today, some are pretty poor and quite a few I didn't enjoy enough to watch till to the end. But this one from YouTube made me laugh, announcing some absurd viral trend for 2014. I think you'll enjoy it too.

15 Mar 2014

How does a clothing brand get 7 million YouTube views in one day? Well Wren (a clothing brand) did exactly that, by getting a load of strangers to kiss each other for the first time, some great awkward moments throughout. It's worth a watch.

9 Mar 2014

Save The Children UK have been inspired by 1 second everyday, a project where a man takes a 1 second movie every day and stitches all the footage together to make a movie out of it.

This ad follows the life of a little girl living in London, flashing through 63 1 second shots. Starting with here celebrating her birthday at home with her parents but ending it without a home or farther with the strap line "Just because it isn't happening here, doesn't mean it isn't happening".

1 Mar 2014

You know what it's like when a train approaches and the gust of wind that comes from it, blows your hair everywhere (more aimed at women with long hair). Well in Sweden they have used that to their advantage with the help of some cool digital tech to create this ad.

23 Feb 2014

DHL have been pretty sneaky this week with a great prank; they painted boxes in temperature-activated ink that turned the boxes black when they were exposed to sub-zero temperatures. So DHL froze these boxes and asked UPS and TNT to pick up these black boxes from random locations. It all must have seemed like an everyday job for their competitors, until the box warmed up to reveal DHL branding and copy saying that 'DHL is faster'.

14 Feb 2014

Happy Valentines Day. I found this ad online that was in a UK newspaper today for Carphone Warehouse. I like ideas that use media for more than it is and it works really well with the company's 'We compare you save' line. Although, I don't know how impressed my partner would be if she got these.

7 Feb 2014

I've just watched this ad for The Sunday Times by GREY London, devoted to iconic moments in music and film. It's shot in one seamless take (or so it seems) to bring masterworks to life featuring Forrest Gump, Mad Men, Reservoir Dogs and Daft Punk to mention a few. It's worth a watch.

31 Jan 2014

To get you in the mood for the upcoming Super Bowl, I thought I would share with you my pick of the mega buck Super Bowl ads. I've chosen this ad by Budweiser that leaves you happy and it'll make you say 'awwwww' at the very cute puppy who escapes his adoption centre to be friends with a Clydesdale horse on a nearby farm.

24 Jan 2014

This week it goes to a website for a push up muscle shirt product. But there is something more to the website, I don't want to ruin it for you, let me just say it has something to do with Old and Spice.

17 Jan 2014

How many Facebook pages have you liked and forgotten about? Until you get loads of messages on your wall that you couldn't care less about and you don't have the time to go through all your liked pages one by one to clear them up.

Well now 'Ajax Spray N Wipes' have created this microsite which accesses your Facebook and Twitter account and lets you easily and quickly clean up your social life likes.

9 Jan 2014

Happy New Year. I've been away over the Christmas holiday and now I'm back, catching up on ads and sharing the best of them for you. The first 'Ad of the week' of the year goes to this spot by BBH for The Guardian. Warning you of the perils of trying to do everything they recommend.